A hybrid, werewolves, and a scooter (gxg)

Ch. 30 - Reunion and Friedrich

"Mom?!" Troian spoke as the woman got closer to us after dropping her gun down.

Lucy was a woman who had this kind spirit to her, but that could also kick your ass. She had blond hair since she was a normal huntress, but it almost looked white like her kids', and she was as tall as Troian, which meant that they were both the shortest ones in the family, being around 5'7.

She wasted no time in pulling Troian in for a hug. She had left the Soilés after having her last daughter eight years ago, and no one saw her again. At least not until now.

The others were probably expecting a heartwarming mother-daughter moment, but I knew that it wasn't going to happen.

After recovering from the shock of seeing her again, Troian pushed her away.

"What the fuck?" Troian said, making the others gasp, and I tried to hold in my snicker.

I knew it wasn't appropriate, but I was still a bit drunk, and Troian never swore.

"Language, young lady." Her mother was quick to scold her.

"What the fuck?" She said, slower this time. "You really think you get to leave without notice - leave all of us with that scrumptious man, and then come here as if nothing happened? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

Troian quickly went upstairs, probably to her room, leaving us all to stand there.

"Hey, momma bear, how you doin'," I said, not being able to read the room's mood.

"Hunter, it's nice seeing you again," she said, a bit baffled by her daughter's behavior.

"I'll talk to her, okay? We just had a long night."

"Are you drunk?" Casey asked, approaching me and giving me a sniff. "And you look like you swam in blood. What happened here? Are the two of you okay? We were searching all over but we didn't think you'd be in the kitchen at 4 am."

"I was stabbed but I'm fine. Troian's feeling a different kind of pain, so I should check on her," I said, trying to go to the other floor, but she stopped me. "Come on, her heart is hurting."

The room started to shake, and soon enough, Saria and Sinna were back.

"What in the world is going on?" Saria asked, and at that moment I had no clue how to answer.

I felt my mind dozing off, and I didn't fight it. The last thing I saw was Casey picking me up while the others talked some disconnected words.

I'll deal with it tomorrow.

-- -- -- --

The hungover headache was worse than I thought it would be.

I was laying on the king-sized bed again, probably being carried upstairs by Casey, and the thumping in my head got worse by the second. Since I was now clean, I assumed that someone had changed me or the witches had used a spell to do the job. It didn't really make a difference.

I could hear a few voices from outside the room, and then Casey got in with some water and medicine.

"Drink up."

I did as she told me and then looked back up at her.

She seemed fine, but a bit worried for some reason. Whatever happened during their search must have...

Wait.

And just like that, the thoughts from what happened earlier rushed through me.

The mansion was invaded by a bunch of hunters and then Lucy appeared. I should go see Troian.

"I know you want to get up and check on your sister but you need to rest for a moment, okay?" Her tone was soothing as if she was trying not to worsen my headache. "Lay down for a while and we'll talk later."

As she was about to turn to get out of the room, I grabbed her arm and pulled her in.

I wasn't so sure of what was happening, but I didn't feel like being alone with my thoughts right now.

How did they pass through the portal? Were we safe?

"Can you keep me company?"

Instead of answering, she just smiled and hopped on the other side of the bed that sank in with the new weight on it.

I shifted a bit so I could get closer, and she quickly got her arms around me. I wouldn't mind spending the rest of the day like this, especially after what happened.

I was tired. Everyone was. But we didn't have too much time to rest.

After a few peaceful minutes of me cozying up to her, she knew it was time to say something.

"What's on your mind?"

"Too much," I admitted. "Apart from what we already talked about, I've thought more about Jace trying to hunt you down."

Jace wasn't as bad as the twins. He surely wasn't nearly as smart as they were, but it didn't mean he wasn't a threat. But what was making me feel uneasy was how the Soilés knew about the existence of the stone. Maybe they did hear it from other supernaturals, but what were the odds?

And how were they draining magic from witches?

It wasn't adding up.

"I'm just not understanding how they found you and knew that they had to specifically look for you."

"You said before that your family is good at this stuff," she comforted me. "Besides, we can take them, okay?."

"I wouldn't be so sure. The hunter from yesterday said they weren't prepared to fight vampires, which meant they were prepared to fight the rest of you. What if any of you were here at the time? If they did something like when the twins broke into the dorm? You were dying, Casey. Your wounds wouldn't have healed without my blood. They did something to you."

And just like that, I realized how much I cared about them. About her.

Damn it.

"And how are they doing the magic-draining stuff? There's just so much going on and nothing's making sense anymore," I finished, upset, and I'd be lying if I said I didn't want to cry at least a little bit.

"I know." She lifted my head so I'd look into her eyes. "I'm more worried than you probably think I am, and everything is getting overwhelming, but we have to keep going. We managed to find Marina and we think she'll help us. Haven will bring that Lucius guy, and the witches are with us. It won't be easy, but we have to try."

"Why?" I questioned, more to myself than her. Why did I have that urge to try and fix stuff instead of just running away and living a long, happy life with the people I loved?

"Because we can. Because it is the right thing to do and, as much as we don't like to admit, our moral record says we should," she smiled, making me feel a bit better. "I mean, you're a psychology major, for goodness sake. Don't you study that kind of stuff? Isn't Silas the guy with no ethics that oppresses people and we should do something about it?"

I couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her words. She was right. Some fights aren't worth fighting, but this isn't one of them.

Nietzsche says that to live is to suffer, and to survive is to find meaning in the suffering.

If we're in deep shit just by existing, we might as well try and do something good about it.

"I think I know my superpower now," she beamed, sounding a bit amused. "I get to make you smile."

"I thought your superpower was to turn into a huge fluffy wolf?" I grinned.

"That's an extra, just don't bite me," she said, and I only grinned wider. "Aren't you supposed to say something like "I don't bite" to make me feel better?"

"That'd be a lie."

"True, those corpses downstairs prove your point."

And just like that, I decided I was feeling well enough to get up. We couldn't waste much more time.